Exceptional Gemstones
by Phoenix1220
Summary: Diamond has lived a long 15 years with his younger sister Ruby, and her antics were only going to get worse upon being accepted into Beacon Academy. After surviving initiation, Diamond fights to simply have a "normal" school life amidst the chaos that he is dragged into, but is instead thwarted at every turn. This is amplified when he meets his new team... (Revisions in progress)
1. Before Beacon

"Diamond!" Ruby shouts energetically.

"What do you want?" I ask, exasperated.

"We're going to miss the airship to Beacon if you don't get your lazy butt out of bed!" she calls back.

Dear Monty, she is annoying.

I honestly don't understand how someone could stay up till 2:30 in the morning and then proceed to wake up at 8:00 and act that enthusiastic. Unlike her, I don't consume about 7 pounds of sugar every morning, so I'm understandably pretty tired. This is what I get for living with my obnoxious little sister, I guess.

"Diamond!" Ruby cries again in her piercing voice. Why did she have to be so loud?

"Alright, I'm flipping coming. Why don't you go bug Yang instead?" I respond

I hear Ruby's footsteps pounding the floor towards the direction of Yang's room at the other side of the house. I would have felt awful about dumping Ruby on Yang normally, but it is way too early to deal with her enthusiasm today.

I throw away the covers and roll out of bed, then quickly pull out some black jeans and a light blue, elbow length shirt from my closet. I would usually wear some kind of jacket with my symbol printed across the right breast, but Ruby had gotten the brilliant idea to stick a "Got Milk?" patch onto the back of my only clean one. Until I manage to remove it, there is no way I would be wearing that.

Afterward, I step towards the door, where I laid my weapon the night before. It happens to be similarly designed to Ruby's with a few distinct differences. For one, my weapon is styled as a type of malleable sword rather than a clumsy, unwieldy scythe.

When in its rifle form, I have the option to release several sections of blades, which are conjoined by a series of metal cords to create a flexible chain, from the underside of the barrel. If needed, the cords reel in so that the blade segments merge to become an elegant longsword, and the underside component revolves so the barrel of the gun is instead resting on the bottom in order to shift the center of gravity to allow for more balanced swings. Finally, the grip straightens out to become the necessary handle.

I look around my room one last time: the small desk where I kept my gaming console that was now lying in my suitcase, the fist-sized hole in the wall I never bothered to fix after Yang made it when I absolutely destroyed her in some competitive games, the broken lamp that Ruby accidentally cut in half when she was just learning to use her scythe, my E-SportsLive poster that I put on my wall when I first got into video games, and finally the small framed picture of my mother lying on the bedside table. I quickly stuff said picture into my bag. I was going to miss this place.

"If you don't get out here, I will spit in your cereal!" I hear Ruby yell.

And like that, the moment is gone.

I hurriedly fix my hair, grab my bag, and open the door. Once down the hall, I turn left and enter the kitchen. Ruby is already in the process of eagerly devouring her breakfast while Yang sits at the table with her spoon absentmindedly hovering over her bowl. Judging by the bags under Yang's eyes and the sluggish look on her face, I could tell Ruby and I weren't the only ones who stayed up late last night.

"Having fun there Yang?" I gibe.

"Shut up Diamond."

I generally had a good relationship with my sisters, but Yang…well, she could be a bit irritable at times.

"What? Did you stay up admiring your luscious golden hair and forget to sleep?" I say mockingly.

"You know, if I wasn't this tired, you would be so…" her voice cuts off as her eyes slowly creep shut.

"Yang?" Ruby calls warily.

"Yeah...I'll be there in just a minute Rubes…" Yang mutters as her spoon falls out of her hand.

Just to see what happens, I reach up and poke her in the forehead. Her head leans backward a little before tilting forward once more and, as inertia does its job, continues to fall… straight into her cereal bowl. Ruby and I exchange looks before breaking into near hysterical laughter. Zwei quickly jumps into the adjacent seat and licks her face.

"Good boy, Zwei," I remark before glancing over to the still pajamaed Ruby and adding, "And unless you plan on going to school in your sleepwear, you should probably go get dressed. Also, make sure you don't forget your suitcase like you did last time. I'm still not sure how you even managed that."

Ruby nervously chuckles before slowly saying, "The thing is… I haven't exactly started packing yet."

I take a moment to slam my palm into my forehead at the outright stupidity of what I just heard, "So you're telling me," I begin, "That you were rushing me to be ready...and yet you haven't even packed anything?"

Ruby makes guns with her fingers and points them towards me, "Bingo."

I take a deep breath then mutter, "This is going to be one long fucking day..."


	2. Arrival

Yang and I groggily walk up to the airship with Ruby far ahead, urging us to go faster. I don't know how ruby isn't more concerned. Beacon is an incredibly prestigious school with tens of thousands of students. not only that, but she was at least two years younger than any other student there, and I am nearly a year younger. Ruby was probably going to get picked on twice as often than any other kid. I doubt Yang would protect us either, she'd probably run off with her friends the second we got there.

Ruby pulls me back into reality by yanking me aboard the ship. Yang immediately finds a boy to chat with and casually walks over. I notice that any semblance of her being tired vanishes instantly once she gets up to him. Poor guy, Yang would probably just tease him to pass the time and then forget everything about him later.

I soon find a vacant bench to rest on and observe the other passengers. A boy with a queasy look on his face hovers near the trashcan. Ruby walks up to Yang, completely oblivious of her flirting. Yang altogether abandons the boy who she was talking to and gives her full attention to Ruby as if it's the first time she's seen her that morning.

"I'm so excited my little sister is coming to beacon with me!" Yang exclaims while wrapping Ruby in a bear hug, suffocating her with her breasts. After a while, she lets go and Ruby dashes to the window. I can't hear their conversation anymore, but I can only assume she's reminiscing about Signal, which we should be passing soon. she left all her friends to go here.

I still don't understand why Ozpin admitted her early just for pummeling a group of petty dust thieves. Meanwhile, I had worked hard to excel in my classes and master my weapon so I could graduate early. Ruby even let one of the criminals get away! I calm myself down quickly. I had promised myself that I wouldn't be bitter about her entrance. I guess Ozpin saw something in her that made him eager to let her join, and that is an incredible thing for Ruby. I should be proud of her, not resentful.

A little while later, I close my eyes in an attempt to get some extra sleep before we arrive at Beacon for the assembly.

**Line Break**

I wake up to see Ruby staring down at me from above. I start to wonder what she's doing when she rips out a bullhorn from her bag. Oh-no. I try my best to cover my ears before she blows that horrid thing, but I am much too late to avoid being blasted in the face with noise.

"BUUUUURRRRRRRRRT!"

"Wake up, sleepy! We have a big day ahead of us!" Ruby yells in her optimistic tone of voice.

For a moment, I honestly feel bad for whichever team gets stuck with her. That horn had haunted my mornings for several years. Why the hell did she even bring it with her? A better question would be: where or how did she even get the airhorn in the first place? Who would buy a little girl an air horn for a present?

As I look around, I notice the remaining students promptly exiting. A few throw startled glances back to where we were, obviously as surprised as I was to hear the loud noise.

"Go ahead of me, I have to grab my stuff," I tell her

"Ok!" she shouts, and with a flourish, she spins around and rushes to catch up with Yang.

After I grab my gear, I quickly hop off the ship and start walking towards the courtyard.

From somewhere in front of me, I hear an explosion detonate. In the distance, I can easily see the outburst point. I look closer and suddenly notice… it is my idiot little sister. Next to her are two figures, one fully dressed in black and the other clad in a dress that looked like it used to be white but is now covered in soot. From where I stand, I observe that no one is particularly injured by the incident, besides the obviously petulant girl in white, so not wanting to get involved with any drama, I ignore the situation and alter my course to avoid the incident site.

I eventually find the bustling building in which the gathering would take place, and enter the chaotic space. Since I don't like very much appreciate feeling crowded, I find a ledge jutting out from a wall on the outskirt of the room and swiftly perch myself upon it.

Ozpin begins to walk up the steps, and with a single clearing of his throat, the room quiets. He gives a rather, for lack of a better word, inspirational speech and we are soon ushered off to a set of rooms that seem I be our sleeping quarters for the night. I guess we have to earn our dorms in Beacon.

I'm not sure how comfortable I am with sleeping in a room of riled up, immature first year students, male and female, but I still find my way to the guy's changing room and swap my casual clothes for some loose fitting, dark blue pajama pants and a white shirt with my light blue diamond shaped symbol plastered across the back.

At the other side of the room, I spot Ruby and Yang. I take a moment to lay my sleeping bag down near the wall before proceeding to walk over to them. I only intend to have a short conversation about the day's less than typical events, but I quickly find myself caught up in their antics.

"Aw, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" I hear Yang exclaim as she lifts Ruby into the air.

"Yang! Cut it out!" Ruby screams as she retaliates by punching Yang in the face.

"Why can't you two just act like normal people for once in your lives?" I ask, more to myself than them, as I reach over and pull my quarreling sisters apart.

"And you are?" a bored voice beneath me asks.

I look down to see a girl dressed in all black sitting against the wall, looking up at me expectantly, yet in a disinterested manner. It was as if she wanted an answer but didn't care what it was.

"Diamond. Older sibling to Ruby here," I start.

"Hi again," Ruby says cheerfully.

"And the superior sibling to Yang here," I finish.

"Hey!" Yang protests, "Would you like to test that theory, little bro?" she retorts, emphasizing the word 'little.'

"What in the world is going on over here!" a voice to my right asks, irritatedly.

I turn quickly and easily recognize the distinguished heiress, Weiss Schnee. I had read about her father and her company in my studies.

"Oh, not you again!" Yang and Weiss say simultaneously. For a moment I am stunned, by the fact that someone like Weiss would know my siblings.

"Ms. Schnee," I say as I bow my head slightly in a sign of respect, "You know them?"

Ruby and Yang look towards me incredulously, "'Ms. Schnee?' Seriously? How do you even know her?" Yang interrogates

"How could you not? Did you even take economics at Signal? She is a highly-regarded person, and her father is an incredible businessman. Besides, that's how you properly address someone of a higher stature." I retort.

"Finally someone with some respect around here!" Weiss responds indignantly. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well…" She trails, leaving room for a response.

"Diamond, Diamond Rose. These two are my sisters" I answer.

Weiss grimaces for a moment at the last statement, "You're affiliated with her?" she questions as she points a finger at Ruby.

"Hey, what's your problem with my sister!" Yang shouts.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss yells back.

"To be fair, she did blow a hole in front of the school," I interject calmly.

"Oh, so you're on her side now?" Yang spouts angrily.

"What? Of course, I support Ruby, but she has a point at least. Besides, the only thing I've mentioned is her status, I don't even know her personally." I counter.

"When did I become a third party to this?" Weiss asked, confused.

"Guys, come on. People are trying to sleep," Ruby mentions anxiously.

"Something we should all be doing," I remark, suddenly feeling tired.

"Agreed," Blake comments as she blows out her candle.

"Well great, now I get to find my sleeping bag in the dark," I observe sarcastically as I venture vaguely towards where I remember placing my bedroll.

"Hey! watch where you're stepping!" A girly voice beneath me complains.

"Sorry!" I apologize. I catch a flash of gold before I hurry on to where I was originally heading.

After finally locating my objective, I try desperately to get some sleep. Tomorrow is the initiation, and it is going to be quite an eventful day.

**Line Break**

My eyes open slowly and I start to yawn as I slowly drift out of sleep, then immediately jerk awake when I realize the room is empty. Did I just get left here? Oh, I was going to have some words with my sibling. Not very kinds words, for that matter.

I dash over to the suitcase I brought along and quickly grab my combat gear. It consists of a similar color scheme to my normal clothes, but the cloth is thicker and includes several additional accessories such as brown, fingerless leather gloves, a brown belt around my waist, and a bandolier filled with ammunition. Being in a rush and not expecting company, I temporarily shed my shyness and don't even bother heading to the changing room. Instead, I undress right in the middle of the room. Much to my dismay; however, it turns out the room wasn't completely empty.

All around the room are discarded, used sleeping bags from where people had been sleeping. One thing I had neglected to notice was one sleeping bag that was definitely not discarded and still being used.

I hurriedly pull on my pants as the figure stirs. I stand there shirtless as a purple haired girl sits up and yawns.

She looks me up and down, says, "Nice abs," then gets up and walks to the bathroom. Deciding to ignore her, I rush to finish putting on the clothes then charge out the door. Seeing a glimpse of a familiar person, I run to catch up to them.

I take a moment to catch my breath then find myself walking next to the same black clothed girl I talked with last night, with a trail of students ahead of her.

I look over to her and try to start a conversation.

"Heh, I slept in a little late I guess." After getting no response, I try again.

"You know, I told you my name yesterday, but you never introduced yourself."

"I'm Blake." She responds dryly without even a glance in my direction

"So, how do you know my sister? I saw you talking with her," I ask, trying to continue the conversation

"Well, exploding does tend to draw a fair amount of attention," Blake answers.

I begin to laugh a little, thinking she just made a joke, but when I look back at her, she is still frowning. I awkwardly stop laughing and continue walking.

"_Off to a great start, Diamond," _I think to myself sarcastically.

A little while later, we reach a set of platforms that, after another one of Ozpin's signature 'inspiring' speeches, I imply are launch pads. I stand there eagerly, greatly anticipating the moment when I finally get to use my training properly.

Blake crouches down on all fours and I prepare myself as well. The ground begins to shake and, with a sudden jolt, I am flung off the cliff. I pull out my weapon and ready its sword form. I loosen the cords holding the sword pieces together and wrap the newly formed chain around the nearest tree. Afterward, I pull back hard on the hilt, creating a large gash in the tree. The tree comes within reach, and I slow myself enough to grab a hold of it, digging my fingers into the freshly carved wood.

I start to survey the area as several other students land around and below me. I glance up to see a red cloak flying overhead, then the sound of Ruby's voice screaming something about a bird reaches my ears. I take a deep breath and pause a second to admire the nature around me before grinning wildly. This is going to be fun.


	3. Initiation (1) Annoyances and Interests

After venturing further into the forest and finding a nice branch to rest on, I begin to think about what kind of partner I'm really looking for. According to Ozpin, the first person I make eye contact with is my partner, meaning I would try my hardest to avoid Ruby. There is no way I am getting paired up with _her. _I barely even survived the years we lived in the same house; I wouldn't last a second in the same room.

The next second, I see a golden blur fly past and land on the forest floor beneath me. Identifying this blur as Yang, I start to debate with myself, comically lifting my hands in the process. On one hand, literally, I could have a skilled fighter on my team, but on the other hand, having her on my team would mean I would have to put up with her for all of my years here. Whatever I was to choose, I notice I have to choose quickly, as she looks about ready to leave the area. it takes nearly every ounce of strength to resist shouting towards her, yet I still call out to her.

"Hey, Yang! Up here!" I yell.

As she turns around I suddenly realize that this person was _definitely _not Yang. This will be troublesome

"What did you just call me?" The unknown blonde shouts from below. She looks ticked off, albeit confused, but still angry at being misidentified.

"Oh, sorry! I thought you were someone else!" I yell down to not-Yang. I don't especially feel like dealing with this situation at the moment, "You know, I think I'll just leave now, so uh, bye!" I say awkwardly before turning around and heading away from the clearing.

As I run back along the tree limbs, though, I feel cold heavy object tug on my shirt. At first, I think it's just a branch, but when I turn to look at the obstacle, I learn that the new obstruction is actually a three-pronged, barbed hook. Did this chick really just use a grappling hook on me? Okay, I'll admit, this may have been a bit of a mistake.

"Hey, buddy! Didn't you hear Ozpin? We're teammates now!" She calls to me as she reels in the deathtrap that is currently attached to me. I resist slightly at first, but the pulling is powerful, so I am eventually dragged off of my high point. I land flat on my back and my new 'teammate' leans over my now limp body.

"Hey there, glad you could join me on this fine ground here." She states, laughing slightly.

She detaches her hook manually and I roll backward, ending up on my feet again. After I'm done dusting off the back of my pants, I look over to her and spot her weapon. It appears to be some kind of gauntlet with several gadgets hooked up to it. unfortunately, I already know what one of those 'gadgets' does.

"Do you think you could have possibly brought me back over here without tearing a hole in my combat clothes and nearly breaking my back?" I ask.

"Of course I could've! But it was much more fun this way," she responds cheerfully.

"Right..." I mutter unenthusiastically, "So fun."

"I guess we better get introductions out of the way then!" she says eagerly, extending her right hand.

I sigh before fulfilling her silent request for a handshake, then proceed to give her my name in the same manner I gave it to Weiss, "I'm Diamond, Diamond Rose. You are?"

"My name is Maria," She states, clasping her hands together behind her back and bouncing slightly on her toes, then, as if suddenly remembering something, continues, "Oh, and these sweet puppies," she unclasps her hands and raises them to about eye level, motioning toward her gauntlets, "Are named Lucis and lacertus."

"Light and Strength," I translate, "Nice names."

She looks at me blankly for a split second before her face lights up in joy, "You can speak Latin?"

I shrug, "I do my homework," I respond humbly as I continue to examine her appearance.

Her gauntlets are mostly black with silver running in streaks along the sides. There are several other colors as well, such as blinking lights with gold, blue, and red. As for the rest of her, She has short, curly blond hair, bright, magnificent green eyes, and a pointed light-green necklace. She also wears a short green top that cuts off right where her green skirt begins, showing a bit of her midriff. At her shoulders and hips, small armored pieces fashioned similarly in style to her gauntlets are visible. The sunlight happens to pierce through the trees and hit her at the perfect angle, leaving her in a small area of light. She looks almost… dazzling as I take a moment to admire her. For a while, I am at a loss for words as to how I mistook her for Yang.

"Are you okay there? You've been standing there about a full minute." Maria questions, bringing me back to reality.

I guess I stared a little bit longer than I should have.

"Yeah, it's just that… you wear a lot of green." I manage to get out, making an excuse at the last second.

"_Nice save!" _I compliment myself.

"Oh, yeah. I guess you could say I just really like this color," she quietly mentions as she looks down towards her necklace.

Suddenly, something in my head clicks together, "Hold on, are you the same girl I tripped over last night?" I ask, unbelieving.

Her head shoots back up and her eyes widen, "That was you?" she questions incredulously, "Wait, how did you even recognize me?"

Now it was my turn to look away and quickly respond, "Oh, you know, the hair.. and stuff."

Maria gains an almost smug grin, "So, you like my hair?"

"No! I mean, yes. Kind of, but...you know, it's just really... noticable," I blurt out, stumbling over my words.

Maria bursts out laughing, "I was just joking, you don't have to get so flustered, Diamond"

Oh, her laugh was incredible.

In an attempt to distract from my embarrassment, I send her on a little mission, "Hey, why don't you go follow that path and tell me what's down there. I'll go this way and we can meet back here."

"You got it!" She shouts excitedly, happy to be given something to do.

As she rushes off, I sigh loudly and continue on my own path that I had designated. I finally had some time to think to myself, and I had a lot to think about.


	4. Initiation (2) One of Many

As I'm walking back to the rendezvous point, I see Maria pop out a patch of leaves, balancing uncomfortably on a shaking tree limb.

She sees me and eagerly calls, "I finished scouting the area, boss!"

I mentally facepalm in response to her comment, "Don't call me boss, I'm not your leader."

She chuckles and mutters, "Not yet anyway."

I scoff at that, "You're kidding, I'm not suited to being a leader. Speaking of not being suited to things, that branch is not suited to hold you."

As the words leave my mouth, the branch utters a loud creaking noise and cracks underneath Maria's weight. Maria quickly falls to the ground with not a bit of grace.

I walk up to where she landed and ask, "Need some help?" holding out my hand.

She takes it and I easily lift her up, then mention, "You might want to leave the tree climbing to me, you know."

Maria pouts, "You don't have to be so mean about it. Besides, 'Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid,'" she recites.

I look at her, impressed that she knows the quote, and respond, "Maybe, but you're not a fish."

I then laugh at the cute petulant face she makes towards me. After a short while, I remember our task. As much as I'd like to look at her face all day, we had relics to find.

Suddenly serious, I turn back towards her and begin to question her on her observations, "So, did you see anything on your little expedition into the forest?"

"The only unordinary thing I saw was a path of trampled trees, indicating the presence of a large Grimm, and a series of ruins that could potentially contain the item Ozpin instructed us to find."

Monty, I was starting to like it when she spoke analytically.

Shaking my head slightly, I refocus on the objective at hand, then say to Maria, "Well, it sounds like we have places to go then. Where exactly were these ruins?"

Line Break

Maria grows another one of her smug, knowing smiles as she looks towards my face of awe and shock, then retorts one of my earlier statements, "So, how's that for an ungraceful person who can't climb trees?"

For several minutes, all I can do is stare at the immense patch of burnt forestry and the abundance of Beowulf corpses with a dazed look in my eyes. Eventually, I manage to ask, "What specifically possessed you to make you think that you should have a flamethrower attachment on a pair of gloves?"

Maria adopts a somewhat insulted expression and responds, "First of all, these are not gloves. They are a pair of magnificent gauntlets equipped with a large variety of devices."

She starts to list said weaponry, but I lose track of what she was saying somewhere. She simply keeps naming gadgets, some of which I have never even heard of, but now severely want to try out.

We had been looking over a crude map that I had drawn of the surrounding areas, another one of my skills, when several Grimm had ambushed our position. Before I even had my sword out, Maria quickly flipped a switch on her equipment and set the creatures ablaze.

I shift my mind back to what Maria is rambling on about, for she had been talking for the entirety of my flashback, "Oh, and I can't forget my favorite mechanism. It's called Purity Expander."

An even more confused expression covers my face as I dare to ask, "So, what exactly does a 'Purity Expander' do? Also, why did you give it such a crappy name?"

Maria gets a sort of gleam in her eye, like Ruby would in talking about Crescent Rose, and answers, "It's an instrument that synergizes with my semblance. I send out a blast of energy and this tool lets me tune the wavelength of that energy so that I can manipulate the force and multiply it. That should explain the name."

"It makes more sense, but it's still a pretty bad name," I reply

She becomes annoyed and exasperatedly shouts, "Oh, Just shut up about the stupid name! I'd like to hear you come up with something better!"

I pull out my own beautifully crafted piece of equipment, "I named this lovely sword, 'Unspoken Resilience,' and one of the many ammo types she fires is, 'Blue Brimstone,' a special bullet I designed," I tell her.

"Okay fine, that is pretty cool," Maria relents sullenly.

We walk through the next area of brush to appear in a large clearing with a large round structure. Around the structure are several chess pieces.

Past insults and sulkiness forgotten, Maria shrieks excitedly, "Hey! We found the relics!"

I groan and say, "You also just alerted anything within a half-mile radius. Do you really think those are the relics Ozpin was talking about?"

"Of course they are! Let's pick the pointy one over here," Maria answers.

"That's called a bishop, Maria" I inform.

"Yeah, yeah. You know what I meant," She counters.

"Yeah, but it's still a bishop," I persist.

"If you correct me again, just remember that I do own a flamethrower," Maria states menacingly.

"I do see your point there," I respond as if I wasn't just threatened

I sigh for lack of anything better to do, "You know, I kind of expected our initiation to be more work. We haven't seen that many Grimm. I thought the relics would be guarded by some incredibly dangerous creature."

At that moment, I wish I had heeded the childhood saying, "Be careful what you wish for," because things certainly become really… interesting very quickly.

First, a psycho-looking chick in a pink outfit bursts through the clearing riding on the back of a large Ursa, then rather appropriately comments, "Aww, it's broken," In reference to the Grimm that was now lying on the ground, unresponsive.

Next, another girl in red armor and holding a spear is chased into the clearing by, if I'm not mistaken, a Deathstalker. Finally, my own sister Ruby falls out of the sky from the claws of a giant Nevermore, followed by a particularly angry Weiss Schnee moments later. At some point, Yang and Blake enter the clearing as well.

"Great, the gang's all here. Now we can die together!" Yang remarks sarcastically. Then, Yang's face immediately brightens and she puts on a particularly cheeky grin.

"Oh, dear Monty. Help prepare us for what is to come," I think in a silent prayer.

The blonde haired brawler looks directly at me, as if she knows the pain she is about to cause and declares, "Well, I guess you could say we have a pretty Grimm situation over here," and equips her signature sunglasses.

She then proceeds to point finger guns at each person present while having a ridiculous, self-satisfied smile plastered across her face.

Simultaneously, everyone nearby seems to outwardly cringe at the statement and at least three people quickly shout, "God damn it, Yang!"

And I thought dealing with the creatures of darkness was bad, but it turns out that withstanding Yang's puns is ten times worse.


	5. Initiation (3) Unfortunate Events

After Yang had uttered her absolutely dreadful pun, much to everyone else's dismay, Yang next asks, "So, what did I miss?"

Straight to the point, I respond, "Well, some crazy shit just happened, and now we have Grimm to kill."

A somewhat familiar voice speaks up behind me, "Well that's fantastic. I really need something to beat the crap out of after that atrocious joke."

Maria and I both turn around. A girl wearing a small, unbuttoned leather jacket that doesn't reach below her upper chest overtop a purple t-shirt is perched upon a nearby rock. She has a lance propped on her shoulder, outstanding purple hair, a short, pale, cape-like cloth encircling all of her waist but the front, and brown, leather, laced up combat boots that extend to her knees.

She lightly points toward the general vicinity behind us and raises a single eyebrow as she says, "Are you guys just going to stare at me all day or are you going to dodge that Deathstalker?"

I start to ask a question, "What do you mean by..." but I don't get to finish asking as the aforementioned scorpion Grimm bashes me across the clearing.

"_Oh, that's what she meant," _I think bitterly as I grimace from the pain in my side.

I get to my feet just in time to dodge the next attack with a backflip. I unclasp Silent Resilience from its place and prepare to parry the incoming stinger when a translucent blue wall appears from nothing, stopping the attack.

"My name's Natalie by the way," The lance-wielder from before mentions while walking up to me. Suddenly, she gasps in a way that sounds like shock, "Hey, you're the shirtless guy from this morning!"

As I start to recognize her features more, I realize that she is right. Quickly changing the subject, I cautiously ask about the barrier hovering above us, "What is that?"

"That's just my semblance," she answers, "Someone more intelligent than I could tell you about it, but to my understanding, it's basically just a wall of dust crystals"

"You can channel dust like a force field?" I ask incredulously, "I've never met anyone who could control dust directly."

"Yeah well, now you have," she replies, shrugging off my praise.

Deciding to question her about it later, I return my focus to the Grimm in front of us, "How long can you hold that up anyway?"

"Against that thing? Well, not too long, unfortunately." Natalie responds

"So, what I'm getting from this," I begin, shifting my stance, "Is that we should move before the Deathstalker breaks through and kills us both?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up," Natalie says, following my example and preparing to dodge.

At that moment, the Deathstalker brings its massive stinger down on the wall and shatters it into minuscule pieces, scattering vanishing dust crystals across the forest floor. As if on cue, the Nevermore circling us flaps its wings and sends a barrage of oversized feathers raining down from above. Natalie moves her hand towards the sky, creating a new wall to protect us from the above threat.

I was hoping to save my energy for a later point, but I suppose my semblance is needed now. I close my eyes and I feel a shiver run down my spine. When I open my eyes again, I wave my hands in front of my face, but they cannot be seen; the same can be said for the rest of my body. Being fully cloaked, I easily dodge all three of the scorpion's wildly waving appendages and race towards its face. I stab my blade into one of the Deathstalker's many eyes and fire a concussive round. The creature issues an earsplitting screech before its enormous body goes completely limp.

"That was awesome! I didn't know you could turn invisible!" Maria shouts at me as I wrench my sword from the Grimm's head.

She runs up and wraps her arms around me, nearly knocking me over from the sheer force. She then begins to squeeze firmly. If I didn't know any better, I would say she was trying to suffocate me

"And I didn't realize you were this strong," I wheeze out in between breaths, "I can't really breathe," I mutter, barely managing to get the words out.

"Oh! Sorry!" she apologizes as she releases me and I crumple to the ground.

I cough violently, "It's okay. I'm fine," I lie.

Through my dizzied senses, I just barely hear yelling off to my right, "Get up, Diamond! Run!"

"_Run from what?" _I think to myself as I turn around. I mentally curse as I see the problem. The Deathstalker isn't dead. I try to do what I was instructed, but I'm still somewhat groggy and I am just barely fast enough to dodge the pincer heading straight for me. I continue to run, but the Deathstalker is much faster than I thought a creature that large could be. Right in front of me, several of the Nevermore's feathers suddenly crash into the ground. I look up just in time to see a feather falling directly above me and I roll to the side.

I gasp at the abrupt pain that rages through my body. I risk a glimpse downwards. I had rolled, but not enough for the feather to completely miss me. As it stands, there is a decent-sized chunk carved out my side. Luckily, the Nevermore seemed to have only landed a glancing blow, but… there is a whole lot of blood. I try to stand, but a haze obstructs my vision and numbness blankets my senses as I fail in my attempt. All I can hear is distant shouting and the sounds of battle as I drift into unconsciousness.


	6. Initiation (4) Vengeance and Teamwork

As I return to consciousness, something seems incredibly... off. Every bit of my surroundings has a strange dreamlike feel to them. When I try to wave my hand in front of my face, I see motion trails. Something is definitely wrong with this place. Every fiber of my being feels like it's trying to reject it. Suddenly, a profane thought hits me.

"Am I dead?" I question the nothingness.

I hear an omnipresent voice emanate from all around me. It says, "No Diamond, you are not dead. Not yet." As I look around though, there is not a person to be seen.

I try to gather my courage to demand answers, but my voice comes out shakier than I intend, "Who the hell said that?"

The disembodied voice simply chuckles "I admire your courage, boy, but it is not necessary for you to know who I am. Just know that it is not your time. Do not worry, you will be returned to your world soon enough."

The voice was right. I could feel myself slipping away. While grateful for a chance to leave this horrid place, I still had questions that I needed to ask of this being.

"Wait! Don't..." I attempt to protest, but I am cut off quickly by an oppressive blackness

I hear distant yelling, "Ruby get off of him! We have to go! That Nevermore is coming back!" Was that Yang's voice?

"No! I won't leave him!" That was Ruby. What were they doing?

As my senses come back to me, I feel so much pain, then I realize that I am feeling again. My eyes burst open with a start. I sit up suddenly and gasp in air, just to violently cough it back out.

"Whoa, don't sit up yet," A calm looking boy resting near me instructs. I look up to see an unfamiliar face.

He starts speaking again, "I bandaged you up the best I could. I don't have any painkillers though, so that's going to hurt like hell for a good while. You've lost a lot of blood as well, so I wouldn't try moving if I were you,"

Against his regards, I stubbornly stay sitting and ask, "What happened to the group that was here a minute ago?"

"I'll tell you my side of the story," The boy begins, "I was in the area and I saw, or rather heard, you guys fighting in this clearing. I was about to avoid it, but then I heard some screaming, so, having trained as a field medic, I ran to help. That's when I saw that massive Nevermore feather spear you in the chest. Your friends ran to help you, but after a while, they were forced to retreat. After they led the creatures away, I snuck out of the bushes to see if I could heal your wounds. Honestly, I think I did a pretty good job." He finishes off with a small self-compliment.

"Don't flatter yourself too much. I still feel like crap," I retort, grimacing from my side.

"That part is not my fault. I told you I don't have painkillers," He responds

"Whatever, it doesn't matter right now. Just tell me where my friends went," I demand.

He points to a ruined bridge that leads to an ancient arena and answers, "The Deathstalker chased them over there, but don't think that I'm going to let you go anywhere. You have to recover before you can fight again. Otherwise, you're just going to get killed"

I roll my eyes and throw my arms up. "I'm fine," I lie again, "I need to help my friends. Is there anything you can do to fix my side faster?"

"Well..." he looks to the sky as if considering something.

I interrupt him there, "I don't care about any consequences or side effects. If you have a way to close this wound, then do it." Just then, a feminine scream emanates from the area he designated. If one of those things hurt one of my sisters...Well, let's just say that I wouldn't be the only one in pain.

Hearing the sound as well, my new acquaintance turns to me with a worried glance. Reluctantly he says, "Alright, I'll get to work"

He closes his eyes and holds out his hands as they begin to emit an orange glow. I look down and see the symbol of a broken gear hovering above my side. A few minutes later he puts his hands down and begins to remove the bandages. I gladly see the once gaping hole in my chest is now reduced to a simple, deep gash. I could manage to withstand that.

"Now before you run off, I have to warn you about some defects…" I don't bother to listen. I stand up and sprint away, "Whatever you do, don't use your..!" I hear the medic far behind me shout.

Nearing the bridge, I run slightly faster. I can hear the firing of several weapons and the sound multiple explosions. My ears instantly recognize the sound of Crescent Rose. I soon spot what they were so adamantly shooting at.

With a venomous smile, I look upwards towards the thing that tore a hole in my side and say to myself, "Time for some revenge, bitch."

Pulling out my own weapon, my beautiful 'Unspoken Resilience', I prepare to take down the flying monstrosity. Increasing my speed further, I charge at the arena with all my strength. For added effect, I utilize my own personal ammo type, 'Blue Brimstone', and quickly load the magazine into the gun segment.

Oh, I was going to love testing this thing out. Ignoring my fatigue, I expend the energy to use my semblance and hide from the foul beast just above me, then I rush to climb up the broken pillars scattering the ruins, leaping from column to column, growing ever closer to the creature. Finally, I gain the needed height to jump into the air as the raven Grimm makes a pass. As it flies just beneath my feet, I stab downwards into a space between its body and wings.

Chuckling, I pull the trigger. A narrow beam fires out of my rifle, piercing straight through the wing. Next, I stand as best as I can and run along the ridge of the Raven's wing, plowing through tough skin tissue and muscle. Once I'm at the rim of the wing, I blindly vault over the edge.

"Diamond!" I hear a shout. I look over to where the voice originated, and I see a three-pronged, barbed hook flying in my direction.

Shoving away my apprehension, I grab hold of the incoming hook and feel myself being flung in a circular arc, swinging around a support column, and finally returning back to the stone ground. I release the grapple and semi-neatly roll to my feet.

"You can't do everything by yourself, you idiot," Maria jokingly chastises as I recover, "How are you still even standing? I saw you pierced through the side!"

"I found some help," I answer, keeping my response vague, "Anyway, how do we deal with this thing?"

"Natalie was separated from us. I think she's dealing with the Deathstalker. We've only got Ruby and her three friends to take down the Nevermore. You've just managed to cripple it, but it looks like it still wants to fight," Maria responds, nodding towards the screeching creature, "That's some deadly ammunition you have there."

"It's a prototype," I reply, admiring the results.

"There you are! I try to warn you to be careful, and what did you do? You freaking ignored all of my advice and run off!" A familiar irate voice shouts.

"Who's this?" Maria asks, confused.

"My help," I answer blankly.

"I'm Donovan," the boy explains. He wears a light fitting orange attire, "And you are a moron," he accuses me.

"Are you going to help us or not, Donovan? We've got an oversized bird to kill." I ask, fed up with his nagging, "We need to get in touch with Ruby's team."

Donovan, in a sign of silent agreement, sighs and takes out an intricate staff, while Maria, more open about her consent, says, "Alright, let's do this,"

"As I was trying to say before," Donovan starts, "Don't use your semblance if you can avoid it, Diamond. It uses up your aura too quickly, and you need every bit of it to keep that wound shut."

"First step, regroup with Ruby," I say in a commanding tone. I look around for a moment and see Ruby and Weiss land on a bridge not too far away.

"There!" I shout back to Donovan and Maria as I point across the gap.

"How the hell are we supposed to get over to them?" Donovan shouts back.

I grow a sly smile as I turn to him and say, "Just use your landing strategy," and then I take a step off the edge.

Right beneath the bridge I step off of is a slanted piece of ruins. I use this to my advantage as I land on it and gain speed by running along it. As I reach the end, I take a leap and change my sword to its chain form with a slight adjustment. The edges of the blades protrude this time. The effect this creates allows my sword to puncture and attach to anything I want to wrap it around, for example, the platform Ruby stands on.

Quickly and efficiently, I pull myself up to stand beside my little sister. A moment later, Donovan and Maria land next to me, having found their own ways across. While Maria obviously used her grappling hook, I can only guess as to how Donovan traveled the distance, though there is a strange orange glow beneath his feet. To me, he is a mystery, his actions as varied and random as the trinkets that Maria wears on her wrists. A mystery that will have to be solved later.

"Diamond!" I turn my attention to my sister as she squeals in delight, "You're okay!" Then, her face suddenly serious, she tells me, "I have a plan."

"Me too," I tell her as the wheels in my head start turning, putting together our next course of action.

I take another long look at the struggling Nevermore. It stands on the tip of one of the many ruined structures surrounding this area, a structure that looks somewhat like a set of stairs, and it spreads the remainder of its wings. While I had severely damaged the creature, it seemed that the left wing, my initial target, had not been fully severed, yet it still seemed reluctant to fly.

I turn around to see a small group gathered behind me, "It's tougher than it looks," I admit with a shrug.

"That's what I said…" I hear Blake grumble.

"Then let's hit it with everything we got," Maria says excitedly.

"Hey! That's what I said!" Yang exclaims, agitated.

Following my train of thought, I speak out loud to the hunters-in-training behind me, "We need to immobilize this glorified pigeon, then find a way to pierce the thicker skin covering its vital organs"

"What about your ammo?" Maria offers helpfully.

I shake my head before responding, "I'm out. I told you, it's just a prototype. It's not very efficient for munitions conservation. The one magazine is all I had."

Suddenly, Ruby calls to one of her teammates, "Weiss!"

Weiss looks over to Ruby, then, with a nod of acknowledgment, rushes forward. I watch as the white haired girl runs along the dilapidated bridge and leaps up, preparing her rapier to strike. When she lands on the platform underneath the large Grimm, she plants her blade into the ground, causing a massive wall of ice to leap up, trapping the creature.

Ruby gives more callouts, "Blake! Yang! In between the pillars!"

Her brief instructions perplex me for a moment, then I piece together her intentions.

Ruby gives me an adoring smile before energetically yelling, "Leave this to me Diamond!"

I feel a surge of pride as I observe my little sister leading her small group. She had become a strategist, like me. I stand and watch as Ruby leaps onto a black cloth held between two pillars. She was going to slingshot herself. Weiss activates a glyph and lines up her aim, then releases Ruby, letting her fly rapidly towards the unfortunate Nevermore. Once she reaches the cliff, she places her scythe blade along the neck of the bird and begins to run vertically up the steep incline, assisted by more glyphs. When she reaches the top of the cliff, the momentum carries her straight upwards as her scythe slices straight through the giant raven's neck.

Ruby then walks to the edge of the cliff to look down on us as we look up to her. She even folds her arms behind her in a cute, shy manner. Staring towards the sky, I physically feel my adrenaline subside and my breath even out. Then I start to feel another sensation; light headed.

I try to stay standing, but the world around me spins too fast for me to keep up, and it is a futile endeavor. My knees buckle beneath me and my eyes roll into the back of my head as I slip into unconsciousness again.


	7. New Place, New Shenanigans

To put it blatantly, being unconscious is horrible. Just like before, I can faintly hear what is going on around me, but I can't open my eyes to see. It is essentially like being half asleep. The sounds I hear are normal; worried voices, footsteps, doors opening and closing, etcetera.

After several more unbearable moments in this state, the numbness that had taken me over starts to fade and I feel my eyes respond to my will, fluttering open to reveal a bright hospital room. Over to my right, I spot Ruby. She is lying in her chair, asleep. I gaze around the room and give a quick glance outside to learn that it is night. I am about to lie back down when I hear the door open and light floods the room. it is Maria, unfortunately for me.

"You're awake!" Maria squeals

a surprised Ruby wakes with a start in her chair at the sudden outburst, "I'm up Mr. Port I swear!" Then, as Ruby realizes where she is, she overdoses with excitement. For a short moment, the only thing she manages to say is "Oh my gosh!" repetitively. I only smile as I watch the two freak out. Ruby comes up and wraps me into a death grip.

"When are you guys going to learn? I can't breathe if you're choking me to death!" I jokingly cough out. She releases me and as their eager slowly dies down, Maria hands me a familiar looking tablet.

"This is a scroll; everyone in the school got one. You can use it to contact your teammates or anyone you know. Plus, it can also connect to the Internet and download games." she says happily, most excited about the last statement.

"Sign me up, I haven't played a video game in ages," I say as I take it out of her hands.

"Before you do that, Ozpin had me send you a file with information on our team," Maria tells me.

Team members? As I pull up the document on the scroll I see what she means. I apparently missed the team announcing ceremony, but they seemed to conveniently have a list of all the first year teams.

TEAM DMND- Diamond

Diamond Rose

Marigold Lund

Natalie Verveine

Donovan Arancione

As I'm scrolling through the list, I find my name in a team, then I notice that it is in the position reserved for leaders. When I look up, I see a smile creasing Maria's face. She looks to be barely containing laughter. With a grimace, I remember what she said in the forest.

She leans towards me slightly with a devilish gleam in her eye and she whispers, "I told you so."

"God damn it, Maria!"

After a while, the doctor comes to escort Maria and Ruby out of the medical bay. With them gone it a lot easier to get some sleep; however, the sound of my caretaker entering the room wakes me some time later. I already felt better and was sure I would be allowed to leave. The doctor confirms this.

"It looks like your aura has been working hard while you were asleep, you should be able to leave at noon if you stay at this rate of healing. I'm sure that's great news for you. You're probably excited to tour the school, get to know new people, and use your weapon against the forces of evil!" he chuckles at his last remark then becomes more serious, " just try not to use your aura for a while. It's nearly depleted," He states

I'm glad Donovan wasn't in the room to hear that. He would have been able to say, "I told you so," too, and dear Monty, I hate being told that.

Shortly after, I am released from my temporary residence. As I step out of the room, I hear rapid footsteps coming towards my direction. I look over and quickly inhale, activating my semblance, but I don't have the energy to do so. I curse loudly before I feel a small body slam into my chest. Tiny Beowolves begin to orbit my head as I dizzily try to regain my senses.

"Got you again little bro! How do you expect to take down Grimm when you're getting beat up by your older sister?" Yang teases as she wraps up my head in a chokehold and immediately gives me one of her famous noogies.

As she grinds her knuckles against my head I hear a faint voice shout, "doggy pile!" and I, along with Yang, get crushed by a particular speedy rose living girl.

"And how do you expect to take down Grimm when you're being tackled by your little sister, Yang?" I hear Ruby gleefully scream from the top of the pile.

Yes, this is my family; three siblings lying on top of each other in the middle of a hospital. All of a sudden, I feel something yanking at my back. Before I can react, I am pulled across the hall, away from my sisters.

"Guess who!" a familiar voice shouts.

"Is it the one person I know who is stupid enough to own a grappling hook?" I ask sarcastically.

A merry face appears in front of mine and exclaims, "Yep!"

"Maria! No fair! I tackled him first!" Yang whines.

"Well I'm his sister, so I call dibs!" Ruby points out.

"We're both his sister, you knucklehead." Yang counters.

"Wait, are you guys fighting over me? What the hell?" I ask.

"Shut up, we're arguing!" The two yell simultaneously.

"Let's give them some privacy then," Maria says as she helps me to my feet and guides me to our dorm room.

"Well, this is it. This is where we are staying for the next four years" Maria states as we reach the correct hallway. As she reaches for the door, a large crash emanates from inside the room. Maria and I glance at one another before rushing into the room.

I begin to look for whatever made the sound when…nope. Nope, nope, and more nope. What we see is…a completely nude girl hanging from the ceiling by a rope inexplicably tied to her foot.

"Are you guys just gonna stand there or are you going to help me out!" The agitated victim exclaims.

"Sorry, but I can't really help when my eyes are closed and my back is turned," I say awkwardly. My face is hotter than the sun at this point; I am blushing so profusely that I was probably radiating the color red.

"I got it!" Maria says as a knife slides out of her gauntlet.

There is another thump and begin to get yelled at again, "Close the door, you moron! I don't want every kid in the hallway to see me!"

I have no choice but to do as she asks. Once the door is closed I gain up the courage to turn around and face her. When I look at her I am stunned to see Natalie standing there, and even more stunned to see that she has wings.

"Where are you hiding Donovan? I will hurt you!" Natalie screams.

"Well no shit, why do you think I'm hiding?!" I hear a muffled voice say from the corner of the room.

"I told you we didn't need traps!" Natalie shouts.

"Well, I'm sorry that I wanted our room to be protected!" Donovan retorts.

"Who do you think is going to break into our dorm when we're in one of the most secure training institutions in the whole of Remnant?" Natalie fires back.

I'm not even focusing on their conversation as I walk up to Natalie. Her wings are so captivating and elegant, like a fairy's wings except for the feathers. Natalie takes a moment to turn away from her argument as she stops to shout at me, "Hey! You! Stop staring at my wings!"

"I have a name you know," I quip.

"I would hate to interrupt your wonderful introductions, but you might want to put some clothes on before continuing," Maria reasons.

Natalie hesitates mid-sentence to look down as if she is noticing her nudity for the first time. Her face grows a heavy shade of red. I haven't even seen Ruby run as fast as she does as she rips her clothes off the bed and rushes into the bathroom. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as I finally get a break from the chaos. I use this opportunity to survey my surroundings.

There are four beds laid out in a row adjacent to one another with short distances between them. Drawers are placed on the edges of the room, and two doors leading left and right are present. One door opens to a closet while the other door leads into the bathroom, which is now closed locked with Natalie inside. A person, who I remember to be Donovan, sticks his head out of his hiding place under the bed.

"Is she gone?" he asks.

"If being in the bathroom counts as being gone, then yes she is," I reply.

He lets out a huge sigh of relief before crawling onto his feet. As he gets up, an expression of recognition dawns his face, "Hey, you're the guy from the forest! The one that passed out. Twice," he recalls, emphasizing the word 'twice'

"I still have a name," I grumble, "By the way, I guess I should thank you for what you did during initiation, despite how much of a nagging dick you were afterward."

"And I guess I should say that you're welcome, despite how much of a sarcastic and stubborn cunt you were," Donovan retorts, chuckling, "Anyway, I should go ahead and get this part out of the way. My semblance isn't really healing," he tells me, suddenly serious

"What do you mean? I saw you use a semblance to-" I start to question his statement, but he quickly interrupts me.

"I have this little thing called dissociative identity disorder," he says directly.

Maria takes a moment to think before asking, "Doesn't that just mean that you have multiple personalities?"

"Yeah, it does," he responds as he takes a breath and ruffles his hair, "Most of the time I have it under control, but the other personalities can sometimes take over and make me do things without realizing it. One of the perks to this though, is that each personality has a different semblance. It's also why I have such a varied skillset. You got lucky that I was in the right…" he hesitates for a second, "Let's just say 'state of mind' when I found you in that forest."

"Speaking of which, why are you dressed so differently?" I question. Instead of his former dress garb, he now wears a light sweatshirt colored in an orange tint and a pair of loose fitting trousers.

He grimaces and looks downwards, "That wasn't exactly my choice of clothing." When he sees my confused look, he simply taps his head, and I understand what he means. His personalities had different taste in apparel as well.

At that moment, Natalie bursts out of the bathroom wearing a purple tank top and dotted pajama bottoms, "If any of you say anything about what just happened, I will decapitate you in an instant," Natalie threatens.

Donovan's face lights up in an instant, "Screw that, I took pictures," he states with a smirk, waving his scroll in the air.

Natalie screams Donovan's name followed by many obscenities as she reaches to her side and grabs her lance. I can only stare in shock as I watch her charge Donovan with murderous intent glinting in her eyes. Donovan easily side steps and Natalie instead plows into the wall. When she backs up there is a massive lanced sized hole.

Donovan peers through the hole with intrigue, "Now this is a view I could get used too," he states smugly.

As I'm pondering what in Remnant he's talking about, I hear a muffled voice shout from the opposite side of the wall, "Donovan? What the hell are you doing?"

That was Yang's voice. Overcome with curiosity, I hurry over to the gap and expand my vision into the next room. To my immediate dismay, I soon discover where the hole allows me to see. I had just seen the inside of team RWBY's bathroom.

"What the living hell? I could have gone my whole life without having to see that!" I shout as I press my palms to my eyes in an attempt to block out the mental image of _her _naked, "Donovan you piece of shit! That's my sister!" I shout.

"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you have never once thought about her that way," Donovan says to me in disbelief," I mean, have you even seen her massive-" Donovan's statement is cut off by a jab to his stomach, courtesy of Natalie.

"This degenerate needs to be taught a little something about privacy" Natalie declares with malice.

"I second that motion," I agree, my gaze like a dagger.

Donovan chuckles, then exclaims, "You'll never catch me alive coppers! Haha!" right before he… jumps out the window.

"We'll see about that, bitch!" Natalie rips off her jacket and follows him.

I run over to the new opening and look for the two. Donovan easily runs along what seems to be thin air until I again notice the strange orange glow on his boots. It seemed Natalie had shed any embarrassment about her Faunus heritage and followed shortly behind him with her wings extended. Then, the same insane, pink haired girl that rode into the clearing on an Ursa kicks down our door wielding a massive hammer.

"You guys are going on fun adventures without me? I'm hurt! I'm sad! Also a little hungry. That last one's not your fault though. Anyway, what are we all standing around for? We have people to chase!" the girl shouts while theatrically waving her hands around. The next thing I hear is the firing of a weapon and I barely have time to get out of the way before a pink blur rockets out of the room.

"What the fuck is even happening?" I question incredulously just as my sister Yang bursts around the corner.

Standing in the doorframe, she looks to me and practically interrogates me, flames radiating off her body, "Where the hell is Donovan?"

Bewildered by the transpiring events, Maria and I both merely point out the window. Despite her evident anger, she quickly explodes into laughter as she too fires her gauntlets and launches out the window.

When I chance a look out the window again, I see what she found funny. Donovan, that poor bastard, has an entire entourage of people chasing him. As the three pissed women converge on him, his focus breaks and his step falters as the strange device he had been using seemingly malfunctioned. He lands and attempts to keep running, but her is too slow and he is pinned to the ground by the purple haired angel, or perhaps demon would be a more appropriate term.

I look to Maria, whose mouth stands agape, and ask, "Well, should we catch up?"

**Line Break**

"Glad to see you two could join us," Natalie remarks as she looks up at our approaching figures, a smile creasing her lips and her face flush with the exertion of flying.

"Well, what are going to do with him?" I question curiously.

"Let's break his legs!" the pink haired girl shouts, terrorizing her victim.

"that might be a _tiny bit_ too much. I think a taste of his own medicine is due," I suggest.

"Brilliant idea!" Natalie exclaims

**Line Break**

"You guys," I start, "Are incredibly immature," I state as I look down at the girls' work.

"Says the guy that was laughing his ass off earlier," Natalie remarks, her face beaming, albeit with a slight blush.

"Don't you think that you guys went a little overboard though?" Maria asks, ever the sympathizer.

"Nope," Yang states with confidence, popping the p, "I think this is just the right amount of punishment," she proclaims, still grinning.

As per Natalie's proposal and Yang's help, the two girls had knocked poor Donovan unconscious, then stripped him down to his underwear. The pink haired girl, who I now know as Nora, had left as soon as the need for violence was at an end. Instead of beating him up, the girls did something much worse. In his semi-nude form, they had planted his unconscious body in one of the main classrooms. Now, we sat in one of the many rows of benches in the same classroom waiting for one of two things; Donovan waking up, or students entering the room. As it was nearly time for class, the latter happens first.

The crowd that begins to push through the doors stares first in surprise, then in amusement as they erupt with laughter. Donovan chooses this moment to wake up instead, and as he notices his predicament, he hurriedly covers himself up and charges out of the room. As the laughter begins to die down slightly, a confused, portly professor with a gray mustache walks into the class and asks, "Does anyone know anything about a boy running through the halls in his underwear?" and the laughter ensues, now at an increased volume. Through my hysterical laughter, I sigh with contempt, looking around at my new friends, and thinking about the one that we had just pranked. I feel like I am going to love it here.

**Name meanings if you wanted to know:**

**Diamond Rose- Named Diamond to follow the theme of gemstones and to give the idea of a light blue color. The last name is the same as Ruby's, signifying them being related.**

**Marigold (Maria) Lund- Marigold is a type of golden flower. Lund is a Swedish word that means grove.**

**Natalie Verveine- Verveine is the French word for a type of purple flower. **

**Donovan Arancione- Arancione is an Italian word for orange.**


	8. Unexpected Ventures

The awkward clatter of silverware scratching their respective plates in an attempt to scrounge up their remaining pieces of food fills the lunchroom as the students remain quiet.

Donovan finally attempts to break the silence, "So… I guess we're not going to mention what happened the other day then?"

Natalie maliciously stabs at her chicken before responding, "If you do, I will make you wish you hadn't."

"It was pretty funny though," I comment

One glance from Natalie was all it takes to scare the living shit out of me. An air of menace emits from her dark purple eyes. And I thought Yang was intimidating.

"Oh, hey guys! How are things going?" Maria asks as she sits down.

Noticing our distressed expressions and Natalie's aggression, she makes a very particular mistake, "are you still upset about…" she completely ignores our hand signals trying to silently tell her not to say anything else, but she continues anyway, "…Donovan grabbing your mmph!" we rush over and muffle her mouth quickly before things get more violent than they need to be. I remembered exactly how Natalie reacted the first time someone brought it up and I did not want to see that again.

**Two days ago**

Yang and I looked to the mission board anxiously

"Man this is just crap, they don't give anything to the first years," Yang sighed in exasperation

"I know what you mean, I just barely managed to grab this for my team," I said, pointing at a particular assignment.

"Really? What is it?" Yang asked curiously.

"It's some simple patrol work for the Vancouver fortress on the western border of Vale. I don't expect it to be too exciting," I answered

Oh, if only I knew how wrong I was at that time. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the airship meant for our transport. My team stood gathered at the entrance as a guard in bright white armor stepped out of the Bullhead.

"Due to the increase in Grimm activity on the borders, your team has been requested to assist us in clearing out the majority of threats in the area. Once that is done, our forces can continue their jobs. Get in; we'll explain the rest on the way," He said sternly

Once we arrived, we unfortunately found out that there was no time for a tour of the refurbished antique buildings. We were led straight to the gates, which had been upgraded to better defend against the Grimm that had surrounded the garrison. Before we even reached the outside I could see large Beowolves gathering.

"This is only the least of their hoard, there are even more powerful Ursa behind that thick tree line. It feels like they're waiting for something," said the patrol officer.

Just as he finished saying it, there was a deafening screech as a gigantic King TaiJitu burst through the tree line. Following it were dozens of creeps and two very sizable Ursa, even bigger than the average Death Stalker. No sooner than the thought came into my mind, six of that type of Grimm appeared. Their stingers were oozing venom, ready to strike their prey at the first opportunity.

The officer growled like an animal and pulled out an earpiece, "Fortify all gates immediately! We are not prepared for an attack on this scale! Send for backup, call every military asset we have in the area! We are the first and last defense people so get off your asses! I don't care who you are, grab a gun and set up a perimeter around the wall!"

"Well, consider me motivated," I said nonchalantly as I pulled out my weapon and looked towards my teammates, "You heard the man, get off your asses and start moving."

The second I finish my miniature speech, I face Hollow Brimstone towards the ground and pull the trigger, launching me over the gate and right onto the face of an ugly Creeper.

I had barely seen my team in action during a fight, so as I stomped the face of the Grimm I had landed on, I decided to watch and analyze their fighting techniques. I already knew quite a bit about Maria so I skipped her for now, and instead observed Natalie. She had not yet unraveled her wings, which I found strange. It's possible that she simply did not wish to reveal her Faunus heritage, but wouldn't one want to make use of all of their advantages during a battle? She had perched atop the northern sniping tower and was leading a couple guards in taking out as many Beowolves as possible. She fired lasers from some sort of rifle that had extended from beneath the hilt of her weapon.

I planned on going back to watching the angel-girl once she transformed her weapon into its melee form. Meanwhile, I watched Donovan, whose gear seemed to be constructed using energy emitters. His sleek silver semi-armor had orange tips at the elbows, shoulders, chest, and knees. There was an open space at his wrists and a simple chainmail looking design between his elbows and shoulders, which was also orange. He had simple, steel mesh gloves with an orange, broken gear printed on them. At his shoulder blades was a pair of short length, outward facing electric pylons working to create an electric field that shocked anything that came near it.

His weapon was an extravagant metal staff. From where I stood, I could see dust being filtered into the gem piece at the tip of the pole. Donovan seemed to channel his aura into the gem, which in turn, gave him the ability to create a blast of whatever element he wanted. Said blasts were mass incinerating Boarbatusks and catching some Creeps in the area of effect.

I turned my attention back to the battlefield and quickly started to contribute. I began to realize what a difficult battle this would be as I ran swiftly through the horde of creatures.


	9. Insanity Unearthed

Donovan's POV

I grin as I blast another Grimm away with the flames shooting from the tip of my staff. My grin quickly turns to a frown as I realize my dust crystal had run out of energy. I decide to switch to using ice crystals. As I'm reaching into my bag however, a Boarbatusk knocks me flat on my back. My dust crystals fly out of my hand, scattering along the forest floor. As I try to pick them back up again, a giant shadow descends upon the ground. Looking back up, I see a gigantic Death Stalker stinger quickly closing the distance between it and me, aiming straight for my chest. However futile the motion is, I put up my hands to try and block the attack. My eyes shut fiercely, awaiting their demise.

There is a sharp metallic sound, and I happily realize that I am not, indeed, dead. I open my eyes once again to see two twin axes blocking the massive stinger. My staff split in half at the bottom, cutting the jewel in two pieces. At the thickest point on each side, a portion of the staff opened up and released two deadly hatchet blades; the weapons of a berserker.

"Now, now, Donovan. I think we both know how awkward it would be for me if you were to die," Says a familiar voice.

"Screw off, Samuel. I'm busy," I reply angrily. Samuel is one of the few personalities that inhabited my head. Fueled by his own insanity, and in some small form, I guess mine as well, he often tried to bargain for a little time controlling my, or rather our, body, just to cause as much destruction as possible to his enemies and the environment. He was the one that transformed my staff into his weapon of choice.

"Yeah, busy trying to get us killed by a deathstalker," he retorts, "This would all be so much easier if you just let me take care of this."

"No, I'll do it myself," I say through gritted teeth, still clashing with the Deathstalker.

Samuel laughs in a grim tone, "Will you though, Donovan? It must be pretty hard to focus on keeping me from taking over when you're busy fighting all these creatures…" His voice trails off in an ominous manner. Then I realize that it's not his voice fading, but my senses.

Recognition dawns on my face as I work out his plan, "Oh, you son of a-"

Natalie's POV

A guttural, hysterical laugh catches my attention. Standing high upon a guard tower, my field of vision covers the entire field. As I look around for the source of the noise, I become painfully aware that it comes from Donovan. I use my scope to get a closer look and see him standing in the middle of the crowded battlefield, with a dismembered Deathstalker at his feet. His weapon has changed from his staff to two gnarly looking axes. I watch as he places the blades at each end of the incapacitated, yet still living, Grimm, then pulls in opposite directions, decapitating the monster.

Although, it seems that Donovan has become the monster now. His once tranquil expression morphs into something completely different. His bloodshot eyes gleam with a crazed look and he bears a wide, wicked smile. He cocks his head to the side and releases another maniacal laugh before charging into an area with a massive concentration of small Grimm. He cuts down each one in turn, sending pieces of the Creeps and other creatures flying as his axes chop through armor, bone, and flesh. He starts to radiate a red haze that seems to grow with each hit he deals.

Donovan suddenly stops moving and turns his head to the sky, inhaling wildly. His smile droops on one side, almost completely disappearing. He sniffs again, then snaps his head downward to focus on the two oversized Ursai. He releases a sound similar to a growl and changes his course, walking now towards the large beasts, enthusiastically slaughtering anything in his way.

I hold my breath as I watch him rush towards one Ursa, continuing his savage assault. He starts off well, dealing damage without taking any, until the Grimm flails its claws at the right moment to slice straight through Donovan's stomach. Expecting Donovan to scream in pain and collapse, I am startled when I see him simply roll back his shoulders and re-engage the beast, as if the injury doesn't even exist. Just as he takes out the knees of the first Ursa and readies his final strike, the other Ursa moves at a surprisingly fast speed to swat Donovan with the back of its paw with such great force that he is launched into the air.

I shout his name as I quickly set into action, leaping out of the tower and unfurling my wings, catching him in midair.

I set him down and search his body for injuries, gashes and broken bones alike, but the only visible wound I see is a large bruise on his back where the Grimm hit him. With the size of that Grimm and with how far he was knocked back, Donovan should have had much more than a bruise. His eyes flutter open and he tries to speak, finally himself again, "Ursa, Why is is always Ursa," he spits out.

I am forced to jump back with Donovan in my arms as the bear-like-Grimm follows up on its attack and smashes the ground where I was just standing. As I do so however, I stumble over some debris and I am pushed off balance as Donovan and I tumble down a steep slope. I end up on top of him.

"My face. What the hell is this thing covering my face?" Donovan says in a muffled voice.

Trying to get up, Donovan grabs the 'thing' and pushes upwards. When he finally manages to lift me up, he sees what he has grabbed and immediately lets go, but it is too late. I proceed to roughly slap the shit out of him. Unfortunately for Donovan, he had touched one of the places that one should never touch on any self-respecting girl, without permission that is, and that place is my breast.

Slapping him again for good measure, I then cover myself up and shout loud enough for anyone within a ten mile radius to hear, "What the hell, Donovan!"

Present day

Diamond's POV

Maria now sits with us and discusses the events of our last mission. Donovan and I are nearly tempted to tape her careless mouth shut with how often she nearly brings that moment up.

"It was two whole days ago. I don't understand how you're still upset about this!" Donovan tries to reason, "Do I have to tell you another hundred times how it was a complete accident?"

"The battle took only half that time, which means I had the remaining day to think about what happened, and I've decided to still be mad," Natalie retorts, repaying Donovan with one of her now infamous slaps

Donovan shouts in pain.

"To be perfectly honest though, you probably enjoyed it," I say. And I thought Maria had a careless mouth.

Now Donovan and I had matching handprints across our faces. Team RWBY has to forcibly restrain her as I reel in agony from her attack, and Donovan… It seemed Donovan had passed out. He lies on the Cafeteria floor, right in the path of a walkway. It's really no surprise when someone trips over him. Unfortunately for Donovan, the person who tripped was a very clumsy girl, who happened to inconveniently land on Donovan's face, exposing him to another one of the places that one should never nonconsensually touch on any girl.

The girl hurriedly stands up, blushing fiercely, fixes her uniform skirt, and quickly walks away, but not before contributing to Natalie's slap fund and putting a red mark on the other side of his face.

"Why me?" Donovan cries weakly.

I would have laughed at this turn of events were it not for the fact that Natalie and Yang were staring daggers at me. What the hell did I even do to Yang? Donovan finally manages to pull himself together and sit up just as Yang points at the both of us and says, "I will not forget this declaration of war,"

"What fucking war?" Donovan and I say in unison right before two pies are flung into our faces.

I sigh as I wipe pie out of my eyes, "Sister, you have made a mistake this day," I tell Yang as I stand and locate a food based weapon.

In the moments to come, the lunch room is quickly trashed as the tensions rise between the boys and girls of teams RWBY, JNPR, and DMND. The other occupants of the room can only run as food is flung in every direction. A battle royal had been started, and it would go down in history as the most intense food fight of all time.


	10. Painstaking Romance

**Diamond POV**

"Donovan!" I call out through the sounds of battle, "We need to move quickly, She'll be here soon!"

We crouch in a haphazard bunker that is vulnerable to attack. Soda can explosions can be heard from my left; we would be destroyed in a moment if we didn't evacuate our makeshift shelter.

Donovan panics, shouting at random, "Shit, shit, shit, shit on a stick. We are so fucking screwed!"

We had lost our weapons in the medley of food war and trying to find them, much less retrieving them, was not an option

From above, I hear a bone chilling shout, "Nora, smash!"

Suddenly spurred to survive, I get to my feet and leap from the temporary refuge. Moments later, it explodes into an array of desks and chairs, bombarded by a careening watermelon.

My eyes fill with horror at the image when I realize what I left in that carnage. Donovan was in there too I suppose, but more importantly, I would have to make another sandwich. Out of the corner of my eyes, I spot Yang and her flaming hair charging towards me, attempting to take her chance to finish me off.

"Not today, bitch!" Sent like an angel from the heavens, Maria vaults over a nearby table and runs to intercept the attack. Closing the distance quickly, Maria inserts herself into Yang's path, then counters her strike perfectly, saving my ass in the process. Making a mental note to thank her later, I launch into action as well, switching out with a nearby Jaune, who gladly steps back for a while, to combat Blake.

Coming face to face with my threat I lunge, going straight for a leg sweep. The attack isn't nearly quick enough. She easily dodges the movement with a sidestep and maneuvers herself to stand behind me. Without hesitation, I cloak and reach for Blake's left hand that holds a link of sausages. Disarming her, I take them for my own and perform a backflip to dodge one of her random strikes.

As I get a reasonable distance away and uncloak, I turn and throw the sausage, wrapping it around her arm before yanking backward on the makeshift chain. Just as she staggers forward, I drop the links and grab a slice of stale bread sitting on the floor with both hands, swinging it directly into her stomach. Next, I switch to one-handing as I use my free arm to grip her forward leg and trip her so she lands flat on her face with her forward momentum.

The only thing I don't take into account is Weiss, who rushes forward and stabs at me with a swordfish, barely missing my chest and instead cutting into my jacket. My first thought is, heiress or not, I will get her back for that. My second is, what kind of school serves fucking swordfish with breakfast?

Fortunately for me, Ren shows up and parries her next attack with a pair of leeks, giving me the chance to reequip my bread and thrust toward Weiss, forcing her to jump back. Weiss raises her fish to prepare another strike, so Ren and I run opposite directions in a circular pattern around her.

I notice a flick of her hand, and a white, floating glyph appears right behind me. For a moment I am confused as more glyphs appear around us, but then it clicks in my head.

"Ren, run!" I try to warn as I cloak quickly.

Then, faster than even my eye can see, Weiss dashes forward, hitting one of her glyphs, redirecting her position and sending her flying towards Ren. She gets off one hit then runs into another glyph, which in turn sets her up for another strike, but before she can do that, she is stopped by the pink-haired bombshell herself.

"Nobody attacks _my _Ren!" Nora, who now wields a makeshift watermelon hammer, shouts as she blocks Weiss's attack, then whirls around quickly, gaining momentum for her swing, and launches Weiss clean across the room.

Nora falters for a second, "I mean, not _mine_ mine, not that I'm not saying that I wouldn't want you to be, but that would just be weird, right?"

"Nora?" Ren says.

"Yes Ren?" she asks inquisitively.

"Please stop talking," he pleads.

"I second that notion," I state.

"Hey, guys?" Jaune interrupts, "I think we might have a small problem."

I follow his gaze and easily sort out the issue. Ruby Rose, my sister, stands alone at the far end of the courtyard, Weiss and Blake fallen at her feet.

"Oh shit," I mutter sullenly.

Ruby's incapacitated teammates drive her to the breaking point, and it also gives her no reason to hold back on her semblance, which is never a good thing. She charges forward, using her speed to unleash a torrent of wind in her wake, slamming me and every other person in the cafeteria against the back wall. The food and drinks are not far behind, slamming into us and staining our clothes, including my jacket.

"Come on, I just washed this thing…" I mutter as I slide down the wall, defeated.

Yang suddenly comes crashing through a hole in the ceiling, and after brushing the bits of rubble off her clothes, jokes, "Well, I guess you could say that justice… has been _served,_" Yang beams, applying her cliché finger guns and sunglasses, or should I say finger puns and punglasses? I inwardly cringe at my own joke.

"I'll allow the pun this time, but only because you're on my side," Natalie replies.

It was only me and Donovan versus Natalie and Yang at the start, however, others started to join in, each person picking sides. Most of the girls were on one team, while only Maria had decided to defect to ours, then Nora halfway through the battle. Yang walks forward and gives me a hard kick to the shins.

"What the hell was that for, Yang?" I question, cradling and massaging my leg.

"That was payback for your girlfriend's rude language," Yang responds with a smug smile on her face.

I leg completely forgotten, I look towards Maria, fumbling over my words, "She's not my-"

Then Maria rushes to interject as well, "Yeah, we're totally not-"

"We wouldn't ever-"

As we blunder our way through our clarification, frantically trying to state the obvious, the other teams laugh.

Glynda Goodwitch walks in at that moment, her face painted with anger as she fixes the room. Despite being caught, we still laugh like a group of idiot at the condition of the cafeteria and the hilarity of the situation

**Line Break**

"You're joking," Yang pouts, "Cleaning duty? All day? I have plans, Dammit!" she continues to sulk in the corner of the lunchroom as we clean up the remains of our war.

"I wish I was Goodwitch so I could just magic the rest of this mess away, but no, she makes us clean it," I say bitterly.

Was it worth it? Maybe. A large part of me liked having fun for that small moment, even if it meant I had to clean up this massive room. Besides, cleaning isn't the worst thing; I did plenty of it at home due to Ruby being such a mess and Yang being so careless. Just like old times.

I crouch on my knees, scrubbing away at a soda stain when my hand bumps into some else's. I raise my head to look, and my brain quickly processes Maria's face about a centimeter away from my own. After a split second of silence and hesitation, our noses just barely touching, both of us scramble backward in surprise, Maria squealing a small bit. I then notice blood dribbling down the back of her head; she hit it on the table when she fell.

I am quick to apologize as I maneuver myself to stand beside her, "Shit! I am so sorry. I didn't mean to knock you back or anything, I just-"

Maria cuts me off, "No, it's fine. It's my fault really, I'm the one that fell. I just… need a doctor or something,"

She gets up shakily, using a nearby chair for support. I help her to stand and walk her to the entrance of the hall, tripping about a dozen times.

About halfway there she looks up at me and smiles, "Thanks for helping me, but I think I can walk fine now," her voice trails off as her eyes close and her body goes limp. I reach down and heft her up, seeing no other choice but to carry her. I hear a whistle from Yang. Deciding to ignore it, I walk out the hall, hurrying to the medical station.

**Maria POV**

We arrive at the med room and I have to feign waking up. Of course, I did actually pass out originally, but I had woken up halfway to the ward. It wasn't my fault though, I just… really liked being held by Diamond. Anyway, I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to walk well anyway with my head like it is and everything. Yep, that's exactly why I stayed so long in Diamond's warm arms.

As Diamond lays me down, the nurse comes in to check me over. I have no concussion and no stitches are required, but I still have to rest up a bit till the wound stops bleeding and my dizziness fades, doctor's orders.

After the nurse leaves, Diamond walks up to me, "You've got to be more careful; always falling and being clumsy", he states, chuckling.

"Let's not forget who startled me," I counter, starting to laugh softly as well

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that by the way. I feel really bad about you getting hurt," he starts to apologize again.

"Honestly, don't worry about it. The injury isn't serious in the slightest and it was a complete accident," I reassure him, hoping he doesn't take the incident too personally.

"Thanks, it's great to hear you say that, Maria," he sighs, relieved.

Suddenly, I become cheerfully aware of how close he stands to me, and how close his mouth is to mine. My eyes close and I can barely feel his warm breath against my skin.

Of course, that's when the door flies open, courtesy of Yang entering the room. We split apart faster than two atoms committing nuclear fission.

"So, what's going on in here?" Yang asks with a smirk.

"Nothing really, just chilling out... in this cool room… full of stuff," Diamond tries to play it off

"Why are you on the floor?" Yang questions. That's where he landed when we separated.

"You know. I just like to chill… on the floor," he answers slowly. Real smooth, Diamond, real smooth.

"Well, I brought snacks for you two weirdos," Yang chastises. The bag she drops is full of sweets and chocolate hearts. Diamond reaches into the bag and pulls out a few candies, chucking them towards the door with pinpoint accuracy, forcing yang to retreat.

Diamond's face quickly changes to regret, "Wait, give those back, I'm starving in here!" he yells out the door. Yang complies before shutting it back and giving us our privacy, putting a 'do not disturb' sign on the door. Sighing, Diamond facepalms as I've seen him do a thousand times, thinking the same thing as me. Really? a don't disturb sign? Who does she think we are?

"Sisters. A handful aren't they?" Diamond says again, grateful for Yang's retreat.

"I wouldn't know" I reply smiling, "I'm an only child."

He laughs his incredible laugh, then says, "Lucky you." Then, his expression turns solemn, "Well, it's nearly night, I better get going. You should get your rest."

As much as I want to protest, I know he's right. Stupid Yang, ruining the moment. He walks to the door and opens it, awkwardly pausing at the exit.

He takes a deep breath and nods, "Right, leaving now," he says suddenly, closing the door behind him.

I begin to wonder what would have transpired differently we hadn't been interrupted. My heart flutters and my face reddens as I imagine the possibilities, but I quickly repress those thoughts. He would never do something like that, would he? I close my eyes and try to take my mind off of it, but I am plagued by my stubborn brain right up until the moment I fall asleep.

**Diamond POV**

"Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!" I shout at myself as I run down the hallway. I had gone back to my room restlessly thinking about that moment in the medical room. With a fierce anger towards my own idiocy, I grabbed my weapon and started heading towards the cliff. I refused to sit around. Training is always a good way to clear my head.


	11. The Past is in the Past, Right?

**Hello again people! I am very very very very sorry for not posting for a very long while! I have been very busy with school and getting situated and stuff… Anyway, season three of RWBY is finally fucking out (: D) and it has inspired me to keep writing! I have decided I'm going to try and take this story more seriously than I have been and really increase the quality and length of these chapters, which should be fun for all of you and for myself as well! I've also decided I'm going to split off a bit and deal with each OC's separate backstory for a bit before progressing on and continuing the plot. I also hope to add some characters! I was in a creative mood and started thinking of some new people I could bring into the story. So, without further waiting, (jk there's a bit more) I will continue with the chapter, which will delve more into Donavan and Natalie's backstories. (Btw I finally figured out how to spell ADIEU) ALSO, (final thing I promise) if you wonderful people haven't checked out a writer named Storspeaker, I highly advise it. I mainly read his story ****_The Power of Dust_**** and it has given me much inspiration and hope as a writer. While on the subject, I would also like you guys to go over to Fictionpress and support him as he is releasing his first book ****_Hacked_****. It is very good and I would like you all to tell him that yourselves if you get the chance. (okay THIS is the final thing) pftfttf, I am really bad at ending things. Anyway I just wanted to let you all know before you read, my writing is heavily influenced by my mood and situation so sometimes I'll write something a bit different or even maybe a bit morbid, idk. This story is kind of my stress relieving point; I work on it when I have tons of shit piling up on me or if something is on my mind that I really want to express. I'll just let you get to the story now**

**Donovan's POV (several years in the past)**

"Hey Dork-ovan, wake up!" I groggily shake my head as I open my eyes to the menacing trio of boys before me, "why are you sleeping in the streets stupid?

Wouldn't you rather be sleeping in your warm comfortable bed?" ah, that was meant to be a joke, these people came by here everyday, pointing and laughing at my poverty. My mother died four years back and my father, not being able to support himself, or me had turned desperately to a criminal life. Needless to say, he never came back and after several days I was evicted. I did have a sister once, although she ran away. She couldn't stand how drunken and agitated my father had gotten after mom died, this of course being before he settled for stealing and mugging. I hated seeing that once great man spiral into depression and ruin.

However, that is not the important part, I had pretty much learned how to live on my own by now, the point is that I was currently homeless. I didn't' even know why I was still here or what was anchoring me to this place.

"Can you not hear us stupid? We're talking to you" when you really listen to them, you notice how repetitive their insults really are. 'Stupid this, stupid that,' do they say anything else?

"Fuck off boys, I'm not in the mood today," at this the biggest boy grabbed my collar, "yeah? Well maybe we are; how much have you racked in?" these delinquents had recently stooped to a new low, stealing a homeless kid's money.

"About fifty-bucks," I respond

"Only fifty? You need to step up your game kid, maybe we should give you a puppy, and then kill it, so that people will feel worse when they pass by you" the other kids started to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, just take my money and let me sleep" that's exactly what they did, after several jeers the big one threw me aside and the others stole the small amount of cash I had piled up. A few more taunts and they were on their way, pushing aside all the kids they saw as they walked down the road.

I sigh, I could almost definitely take down those brutes; the harsh streets of a city gave a kid some experience in the realm of fighting and a certain level of expertise on the subject as well. Not only that but my dad had been a hunter before he was stripped of his rank and left with nothing, and of course what is a dad going to teach their kid besides the trick-of-the-trade? Still, I simply chose not too, somehow I guess still had a sense of morals, besides it isn't as if it would help at all. It would probably bring more problems than it would solve.

Anyway, it was time to begin my daily commute. I happened to be an observer. I walked around daily, spying the corruption of this world and sometimes admiring nature, wherever it wasn't being endangered or polluted upon that is. Life had just become one massive cycle: wake up, get my money stolen, walk around, gather more money for tomorrow, lay down and try to ignore the ever increasing pangs of hunger from my stomach. As I reached a dead end in the road I was walking, I see the forest. The Grimm had absolutely littered the place for ages.

Feeling spontaneous, I think to myself 'Why the fuck not?' as I begin to venture into the unexplored territory that was the woods. Not to far in I begin to hear the telltale signs of fighting: a clash here, a grunt there. Curiosity compels me to quicken my pace. I break through the brush to a large clearing. In said clearing stands a small girl, though visibly older than me, and a comparatively massive Beowolf. The girl seemed to be limping and was clamping onto her left shoulder, her weapon lay useless at her feet.

The horrendous creature raised its paw, a hideous grin creeping onto its face, and swung. I may be a passive person, but I spare no mercy whatsoever for the Grimm. Some part of me snapped inside as I rushed forward and snatched the weapon from the ground to block the thing's attack. Conveniently, the weapon was a large broadsword. I push with all my strength and just manage to force the creature back. The girl, now behind me, slowly starts to open her eyes.

"I'm…not dead?" she murmurs.

"No you aren't, and a good thing too, because now you get to see a show…" I look over my shoulder, a wicked smile on my face, before turning back to the beast.

Suddenly a sharp pain drives itself into the front of my head, forcing me to drop the weapon and clutch my forehead. Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the ache stops. I shake my head, and as if just realizing where I was, and look around, only to spot a limbless, decapitated, and deeply singed figure of what looked like the remains of a Grimm. Looking around further, see the girl I was trying to save.

With quaking feet she comes up to grab the weapon I had dropped, her weapon, and with a quavering voice she whispers, "what the hell are you?" before retreating to the small town in a run, despite her previous limp. Looking once more at the Grimm, I am forced to wonder, "Did I do this?"

I start to shake a bit when suddenly I hear a voice, "Why of course you did this my murderous little Donovan, Well sort of anyway." Confused I look around, there was no one there.

"Where the hell are you?" I shout, the previous incident forgotten.

"Why don't you turn around?" I do but once again, I see no one, "just kidding! You're so gullible Donovan! I'm in your head," said the voice

"That should be impossible," I think to myself, "what the hell do you mean, 'in my head'?" I respond.

"Oh you will find out soon enough my little Donovan, but for right now you might want to focus on them…" the voice trail off as I feel a tremor from behind me. I don't even have to turn around to realize what is there. i spin around to see three large Ursa that were attracted by the dead grimm. There is no time to react as a large paw strikes me across the face, sending me flying and causing my eyes to go dim. I rise up suddenly, only to hear an immense bonking noise.

"OOOWW! My face!" I shout as my forehead erupts in pain. I open my eyes once again to see myself in a dark room… and blankets around my waist. I was in my bed, it was all a bad dream… or should I say a haunting memory…

Without warning, the door to the dorm room burst open with Diamond in the doorframe,

"Where the fuck have you been?" I inquire at the new arrival.

"I do NOT want to talk about it," he responds abruptly.

"Bad day then?"

He scoffs, "That would be an understatement."

As he climbs up to his bed I tell him, "dude, we have got to get rid of these bunk beds."

"Oh come on, these things are awesome! Besides, team RWBY uses them," he responds

"You only say that because you're not on the bottom bunk," I say motioning to my newfound bruise plastered against my forehead.

Diamond takes a moment to laugh before finally saying, "Alright, well try to get some more sleep, we've got more of Port's lectures tomorrow."

"Wouldn't that be a reason not to sleep?" I say jokingly, referencing the fact that half the students fall asleep whenever Port teaches.

He laughs once again before we each say our good nights and lie down. I wasn't looking forward to continuing the reiteration of the hellish nightmare that is my past though.

**So I finally got this chapter done after the longest time, I originally planned to make it around 2500-3000 but I reached a good stopping point and I just wanted to get something out because I hadn't posted in so long. Anyways hopefully the next chapter wont take so long to write and I just want to say thanks for reading.**


	12. The Explosive, Egotistical Savior

Nova's POV (around 3-4 years before Team RWBY)

(Who is Nova you might ask? Well, lucky for you, you're about to meet him)

Ah, Beacon Academy: one of the most prestigious hunter academies in all of Vale, and seemingly the center for a lot of activity.

(Suspiciously more than any of the other school, almost as if it were the main setting for some type of web series or something.)

Getting in? Easy. Some would call my confidence in my abilities something along the lines of arrogance, but I would simply call it knowing my own strengths, of which I have many, and weaknesses, of which I have few. By next week around 11 o'clock, I will have passed that admittance test and come back home in time for lunch. Unfortunately for me, getting back home involved a hike of approximately 5 miles from downtown to my incredibly small scale apartment; a hike I was currently undertaking might I add. Not to mention the time. If I had to guess, I'd say it was around half an hour before midnight.

I soon passed an alleyway, and as I looked into the darkness of said alleyway, I could clearly spot several buff thugs crowding around a small space. A commonplace thing in this part of the city, I was about to leave them alone when I noticed a small figure lying in between them. I grimaced as I turned the full 90 degrees towards the group and into the corridor. Another thing that happened to be commonplace in this part of the city was my interference in situations I found to involve injustice. Oh, how I despised an unfair fight, which was ironic considering what was about to transpire between these idiots and my fists.

"You know," I said authoritatively, addressing the degenerates, "I've always hated people who ganged up on others"

"Go away puny kid," the biggest one spouted, "This runt tried taking from us, so she'll be punished. If you don't want to end up the same way, I'd suggest you back off."

I frowned mockingly, "Well it sure would be a shame if someone were to interrupt this 'punishment' wouldn't it? Also, you've got one thing wrong about me," I corrected, raising my sleeves, exposing a massive burn mark along my left arm, "While I may be a 'kid', I am in no way 'puny'."

Then, in an attempt to taunt, I raised my hands and motioned the universal sign for 'come get some'. With a quick glance to his buddies, the big guy looked over to me like I was a freshly cooked steak and started walking over. What this imbecile didn't realize, is that I was way out of his league. As he was taking his sweet time walking over, I did a cliché act of cracking my knuckles and popping my neck.

(Now this is where the fun starts. Remember that burn mark I mentioned earlier?)

Next, bright purple and blue flames originating from my shoulder began to slowly swirl around my left arm. my lips formed a maniacal smile as supposed MrToughGuy's step faltered suddenly. "What's wrong?" I asked as I shrugged," heat got your tongue?" At that moment, the aforementioned flames had reached my hand, which is when I curled back my middle finger and flicked a fireball at his head.

Of course, he dodged it, setting a small garbage can on fire in the background, but its work had been done. That glorious little fireball and probably my beautifully smug grin as well had pushed UglyFaceMcGee and his pals over the edge. They attempted to charge me.

Despite the size of the men, the haphazardness of their little rush was adorable. I chuckled to myself about how easy this was going to be. The big guy that had started walking toward me originally reached me first. A simple crouch and a grab at his ankle and he fell like a rock, bashing his head on the pavement in the process. The rest still barreled towards me, however, so I timed a nice leap and landed on one big idiot's head, at which point the other two decided it would be a good idea to punch up at me.

Another precise leap and their punches landed in open air, causing their weights to shift forward and bash into the one I was standing on. Only one of those three managed to get up, as the others were entangled with each other, groaning with pain and discomfort, but a swift kick to the knee and a follow-up uppercut did the trick of taking him out as well.

I took in the glory of the sight of the total four large men I had just defeated lying on the ground before I turned my attention to their victim. It was a girl, clearly, of an exceptionally low height and long, multi-colored hair who was wearing torn up and bloodstained clothes. She seemed to have been clutching a packet, probably food. Well, I figured as long as I had used up my time rescuing her, I might as well help her out, especially since she was unconscious. I easily hefted her onto one shoulder, obviously not the one that was still steaming from using my semblance, and stepped over, and naturally on, the bodies of her tormentors as I made my way back to the main road and eventually back to my own little humble abode.

**Line Break**

Now when I say humble, I really meant humble, as in apartment for one, definitely not one plus unconscious chick. However, me being ever the gentleman, I gave _her_ the bed. That's right, I slept on a couch for a lady I didn't even know, but I digress. I should probably be telling you more about what actually went down during the rest of my time harboring that troublesome occupant, considering that's indefinitely more interesting.

Now, allow me to tell you my morning-to-afternoon events in order of importance: I got up to some food, progressed into my office chair to watch some Netflix, sent a quick email to the author of this story to remind him to put a line break over that last segment (something he'll inevitably forget anyway), then I figured that maybe that girl would be hungry, so I walked into my cramped kitchen to make some soup, and finally brought it to _my_ bedroom. However, when I walked in, the first thing I saw was the red bed sheets. The girl somehow managed to reopen her chest wound while she was sleeping. The chest wound I used several stitches and hours of my time yesterday to fix. Great.

I did the natural thing and ripped off the sheets, picked her up, and ran her to the restroom where she couldn't stain anymore of my- I mean where the first aid kit was. She still had the torn clothes from yesterday on, but I had given her a robe to keep her warm and covered. Now, those clothes were matted with even more blood than they were before, a lot of it fresh. I grabbed a couple rags to soak up said blood before realizing that a majority had originated from under the cloth… meaning that I would need to remove her shirt to clean her cuts. This was 100% unavoidable with no alternatives. Trust me, I know my medicine. Those injuries could have caused some serious infections without my intervention, My actions were nothing but justified.

All that aside, there were several benefits to this situation. For instance: I found many other wounds I had not previously identified, it gave me more freedom to place my bandages, plus it gave me a nice view of her nicely shaped brea- stomach. I meant stomach, of course. I paid very close attention to specifically her stomach. It seemed she was not as undernourished as I predicted when I could only see her with her shirt on. See? Strictly medical purposes. No bullshit.

Anyway, after I had finished my work, my actual work, this time, I gave her one of my outfits to wear. They undeniably weren't going to fit, but I had no other choice with her original clothes being in their morbid state: ripped, bloodied, etc.

After I laid her down again, on her, or rather _my_, newly cleaned sheets, I pondered how I would continue to care for this girl. I thought I would only have to clean her sheets and things until she woke up, but if course it's never that simple. My plan didn't account for how much time I was going to have to spend figuring out how to actually get this person her food. I think I read something about making your pets take oral medicine once, but that's about as far as my 'expertise' would go. It's probably something along those lines, though. Things usually sort themselves, right? I'm sure it'll end up being fine.

**Line Break**

Surprise, it was not all fine, though when is it really when dealing with women? Give me a swarm, or even a horde, of Grimm any day. Though, I can't blame her. Obviously waking up in an unfamiliar bed in an unknown room with an unidentified person _feeding you_ is going to freak you out a bit. Just a _small _bit.

I was simply sat in my room listening to some great tracks from my phone. I currently had my "classics" playlist brought up.

_I can't stop this feeling  
Deep inside of me  
Girl, you just don't realize  
What you do to me…_

Blue Swede- "Hooked on a Feeling." 1973. I sighed as I listened to the rest if the song_. _I then spun around in my chair to face the bed as the next few lines came up.__

_Lips as sweet as candy  
Its taste is on my mind_

I had previously been humming along, but at those words, I hesitated. My eyes slowly glanced over to the girl. looking towards her face, the song suddenly becomes about her. I scoffed suddenly. I didn't even know her name yet. I went to change the song, but the next few weren't much better.

_Free, on my own, that's the way I used to be  
But since I met you, baby  
Love's got a hold on me  
It's got a hold on me now  
I can't let go of you baby_

Elvin Bishop- "Fooled around and fell in Love." 1975.

Not that one.

_I never knew how complete love could be  
'Till she kissed me and said_

_Baby, please-_

The Raspberries- "Go All the Way." 1962.

NOPE.

For the love of Monty, when did every song on my playlist turn into a love song? Well, I guess you can't really expect much different from the classics. I hit the pause button and sit down on the bed. I then grab the notorious soup bowl from the bedside table and begin the task keeping my patient sustained in an attempt to take my mind off the subject. I'll admit it wasn't a smart idea. Who would've known that going through the intimate act of feeding someone would do the exact opposite of make you think about them less?

Her lips parted slightly to allow room for the spoon as I inserted and retracted it repetitively. After each spoonful, I would then tilt up on her chin to force her to swallow. My eyes began to wander over the rest as her face as the task became mechanical. Her eyebrows were sharp, her nose pointed and perky, (very similar traits as a feature I noticed earlier might I add), betraying the look the rest of her dirt-smeared face gives off, and her eyes seemed softer and round in contrast to her other features, her eyelids only tilting upwards and coming to a point at the outer edge. She looked so calm as she rested… When I released her chin for possibly the 9th time, I noticed her eyelids beginning to lift.

She was sitting in an upright position in the bed, arms above the covers and unrestricted. Her arm twitched suddenly and I instinctively raised my free hand to defend myself, barely blocking an uppercut aimed straight at my chin.

"Well someone's awake," I muttered

Next, she used her left hand, which was previously propping her up against the bed, and swung in a shallow arch to meet my face. I released my hold on her other fist to parry her punch, then gave a quick shove to her chest, forcing her back into a lying position. Any softness of her eyes calmness of her had suddenly disappeared, replaced by an expression of pure malice, and it was pointed directly at me. That, not her punches but her expression, made me wince.

"You know, if I spill this bowl, it's going to be your fault," I mentioned pointedly. "Speaking of which, haven't you ever been told not to bite the hand that feeds you?"

At the mention of the bowl and 'feeding,' she grew a confused look and began to survey the room.

"You're in my room in case you were wondering. Don't you remember anything? The part about me beating up those guys in the alleyway? The part about me saving you and literally carrying you home? Not that you actually weigh much, though... "

The only response I get is an incredibly perplexed stare. She mouths the word 'save' as if she was asking me, then tilts her head to one side

"Yeah, I saved you, you could say a little something appreciative, like maybe 'thanks', instead of trying to knock me out. That would be fantastic." I retort sarcastically

Instead of doing any of that, she shakes her head. After a moment of searching, she points somewhere behind me and towards a small desk. She seemed to be looking intently at the pen and notebook I left there.

I grabbed it and held it into the air, "You want this?" Her answer was a resounding yes as far as I could tell by her adamant head nodding. Curious as to what she would do with it, I smoothly tossed the paper and writing utensil into her waiting hands. She was going to write, that much was evident from the beginning, but write what? And why? It doesn't take long to find out. She quickly scribbles down a couple of words then, with a matter of fact expression, turns the paper around for me to see.

I read simply, "I'm mute"

"Well then, that would explain a few things, including why I didn't hear a scream when I was walking last night."

At this, she hastily pulls the paper back around and scribbles something else, "I do not scream."

"_Well no shit, you can't_," I think undoubtedly. As I'm about to voice this, she realizes herself and makes a correction to her sentence by scratching out "do" and adding "would".

A rueful grin comes to my face, "So you think yourself tough then, just because you've lived on the streets of Vale?"

I glance hatefully at my family's emblem, a now bloodstained portrait of a sword with a hilt shaped like the wings of a phoenix. The sword was depicted as being shoved into the earth, with red, splintering cracks growing around the blade in the rough shape of a semicircle. In the background was a volcano, from which a spout of lava flew upwards in many directions, completing the full circle.

Of course, we had the original sword, displayed proudly and heavily revered, said to have been wielded by some legendary knight of an ancestor whose semblance could perish any evil, yadda yadda yadda. Just your basic mythological epic, which was not so epic in my opinion, but that tale had turned them into the most pretentious group of warmongers in the whole of Remnant. They even went as far as to call themselves "nobles" like we were called when that title actually meant something.

It's one of the reasons why my sister and I left that hell-hole without turning back, but more on that later.

I guess the girl noticed my expression because she began to grow a more curious look in her eyes, but before she can bring up the question, I start to ask her some of my own.

"What is your name? I'd rather not keep referring to you as 'girl' for the remainder of our time."

The look almost instantly dissipated as she once again flipped the notebook around and wrote a three letter word down on the paper and showed it to me.

A genuine smile comes to my face then, "Well, very nice to meet you Neo. I'm Nova, Nova Canis."

**WELL, that was a pretty lengthy chapter, probably one of my longest. I've wanted to introduce this character for a while now and potentially pair him up with Neo. My idea is he meets her before she joins Roman then he sees her again after he's joined beacon. Despite the main character being Diamond in this story, I think Nova is actually going to be my favorite one to write about. If you're wondering what those parentheses were about, it's a little gimmick I've made for Nova. it's basically a fourth wall breaking ability that I've also wanted to write about for a while. Don't worry, the next chapter involving the main four should be getting underway again after I post this one. Hopefully, the waiting period between chapters isn't as long this time.**


End file.
